Black Queens Bow Out After Heartbreaking Penalty Shootout Defeat to Morocco
Ghana lost 4-2 to Morocco, missing out on a position in the 2024 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations finals as Evelyn Badu and Comfort Yeboah missed their penalty kicks.
After Sakina Ouzraoui scored 10 minutes inside the second half to negate Stella Nyamekye’s 26th-minute goal, regulation time plus an additional 30 minutes finished in a draw.
The starting lineup that defeated Algeria on penalties to guarantee a spot in the semifinals was kept by Kim Lars Bjorkegren.
The Black Queens made an excellent start to the game, giving away very little in terms of possession, despite the hostile environment.
Ghana also created a few chances of their own with Stella Nyamekye and Chantelle Boye-Hlorkah forcing decent saves out of Morocco goalkeeper, Khadija Er-Rmichi.
She made a superb stop on Josephine Bonsu’s header, but was unable to block Stella Nyamekye’s rebound attempt, which gave the Black Queens the game’s lead.
Princess Marfo and Doris Boaduwaa had opportunities to give Ghana more goals before halftime, but they fumbled their lines at the last second. A last-ditch clearing by defensive stalwart Susan Ama Duah stopped a Moroccan goal.
Stella’s goal was the difference maker as the two teams entered the half. After the Atlas Lionesses goalie made a mistake, it might have been a fantastic start to the second half, but Stella was unable to score with a sneaky loop.
Cynthia Konlan was forced into her first save of the game when she tipped Najat Badri’s curler over the crossbar.
Just when the game seemed to be taking off again, the Black Queens conceded after Sakina Ouzraoui’s beat Cynthia to the ball to make it 1-1.
Despite the Moroccan pressure after the equaliser, the Ghanaian team was up to task forcing the game into extra time for the second consecutive game.
It was a cagey affair as both sides failed to get the much needed goal as the match ended in penalties.
Hosts Morocco netted all their spot kicks as Evelyn and Comfort missed theirs and as a result, Ghana was unable to make it to the final for the first time since 2006.
